The Matriarch's District of Portelance is a gargantuan, orderly nation, renowned for its barren, inhospitable landscape, complete lack of public education, and suspicion of poets. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 33.204 billion Portians are ruled by a mostly-benevolent dictator, who grants the populace the freedom to live their own lives but watches carefully for anyone to slip up.

The minute, well-organized government, or what there is of one, is dominated by the Department of Law & Order, although Industry and Defense are also considered important, while Welfare and Healthcare are ignored. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of District City. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 7.2%.

The very strong Portelancean economy, worth a remarkable 1,490 trillion aurums a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is broadly diversified and led by the Uranium Mining industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Automobile Manufacturing, and Book Publishing. Average income is 44,901 aurums, with the richest citizens earning 7.5 times as much as the poorest.

Gambling is outlawed, euthanasia is legal, graffiti artists spend lengthy periods of time in jail, and Portelance has designated District City as its capital city. Crime is a problem. Portelance's national animal is the bovina, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Portelance is ranked 66,540^th in the world and 236^th in State for Largest Black Market, with 7.09 trillion Standard Monetary Units.